An exploratory study of ASEAN students' engagement dynamics with local communities in China, Japan, and South Korea

Drastic shifts in geopolitical and economic landscapes in East Asia have escalated competition among China, Japan, and South Korea for higher education market share within ASEAN countries. This surge in ASEAN tertiary student enrollments in these countries has been altering the internationalization dynamics of not only the host universities but also the surrounding societies. Extant literature needs to be updated to address this recent influx of ASEAN tertiary students, particularly their connections with local societies within East Asia. To fill in the gap, this study explores the engagement dynamics of ASEAN students with these local societies, as well as the resultant impacts. Through semi-structured interviews, this study involved 27 participants, including ASEAN students, university administrators and staff, and representatives from local governmental and non-governmental organizations across selected locales in the 3 countries. The findings identified varying degrees of engagement among ASEAN students with local societies of the three countries across economic, socio-cultural, and diplomatic-political dimensions. This cross-national variance is potentially attributable to divergent governmental strategies and university motivations for recruiting ASEAN students.